ARTICLE
HOUSTON – Texas highway industry icon Doug Pitcock received a 96th birthday gift that will remember him for the ages. The newly completed “Aggie Freeway” connecting northwest Houston to the Bryan-College Station area will eventually be renamed the “Doug Pitcock Expressway," Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced Saturday night (April 20) during Pitcock's birthday celebration. Patrick said he could not think of a better gift than to honor Pitcock with road immortality – “forever for hundreds of years into the future.” Scores of folks attending the birthday party showed enthusiasm with loud applause. Pitcock can choose “expressway” or “freeway” behind the name, Patrick added. About 180 of Pitcock’s friends and Williams Brothers employees gathered at The Post Oak Hotel, one of Houston’s luxury hotels, to celebrate the company founder’s birthday. Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp, Houston Mayor John Whitmire, and Senate Transportation Chair Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, attended the celebration gathering. A Marilyn Monroe impersonator showed up to hover over Pitcock while singing “Happy Birthday Mister President.” A video featuring company employees scattered across multiple construction sites paying tribute stirred strong emotions for Pitcock. Employees sported party gear and used both humor and sincerity to honor their boss in various settings. Pitcock kept grinning while watching the video. “Oh, my God, my guys don’t act like that. I’m going to watch it again and again - at least 5 more times,” Pitcock said later. “I was just blown away.” Close friend Pennie Johnson planned the party for Pitcock, who is like a father to Pennie and husband, Todd, and a grandfather figure for Jaclyn and Olivia, the couple’s daughters. “Those construction guys probably wouldn't have done that for anybody else in the world. But Pennie has a way with people. She loosened them up,” Pitcock, chuckling, said after the party. “And, I mean, (Vice President) Jesse Khangura never in the world would I ever see him act like that. It was so rewarding to see him have a good time and be able to have some fun.” Pitcock founded Houston-based Williams Brothers Construction Company in 1955. He and his company have built some 3,500 bridges and paved about 11,000 miles of highways over the past 69 years. Pitcock’s company employs nearly 2,500 people. Johnny Weisman, another industry leader, offered a testimonial for Pitcock. Both have twice served as presidents of AGC of Texas. Pitcock also served as president of AGC of America in 1984. “You have been very much a mentor to me in my life. Just looking at what you've done in your life, all the things you've done, both on the state level and on the national level,” Weisman noted. “You've been an industry leader. You've taught a lot of people how to figure out this work. From where you came from to where you are today is quite an accomplishment.” Friends laughed as Weisman highlighted Pitcock’s vast contrasting styles: He could lob “hand grenades” or cast himself as a passive, gentle “rose.” “So sometimes I called Doug ‘hand grenades or roses.’ Sometimes I would come into an AGC meeting, and he would be all hand grenades. Next time, he’d be oozing Doug charm. And it was quite nice. Sometimes you didn’t know if it would be hand grenades or roses. But we even appreciated the hand grenades,” Weisman said. As a young highway contractor, Weisman observed Pitcock so he could learn “how things operate.” “And the history that we all take, as we go through life of how to get things done, without ever losing sight that our job here is to build infrastructure, mainly roads,” Weisman said. “And you have left a footprint across this state that I don't think anybody else can replicate. And you did it because you had the passion to build these projects, and to teach a lot of people like Bob (Lanham) and Randy (Rogers) and Seth (Schulgen) and David (Casteel) and others how to carry on this great tradition.” The savvy Pitcock knew how to inspire company employees and how to work with TxDOT leaders and state legislators while growing his company and helping put more projects on the Texas road map, Weisman said. “You were a very dynamic force in making it all happen. And we all owe a deep, deep debt of gratitude to you for what you've done. And we're not going to let you go because (we need you) for another couple hundreds of years,” Weisman said. Pitcock and everyone else laughed. “All the people in your organization are first class - top of the hill, from top to bottom,” Weisman told his friend. “As you go through life, you can do a lot of things and make a lot of money, or you can lose a lot of money. But what you do and what you leave behind are the things that help Texas become what Texas is today.” Weisman noted the “heartwarming” pride Pitcock’s employees displayed in the video tribute, adding: “We’re not going to let you out of the game yet. You've done it and done all of us a great service. And I want to wish you a very, very happy birthday.” The elaborate party was at least a year in the making. “I was pretty determined to make it happen. I tried to leave no stone unturned,” Pennie Johnson said. The fancy boxed invitation commemorating Pitcock’s life set the tone for the party. The celebration finale featured a 350-drone light show that party guests viewed from the hotel’s 33rd floor patio with downtown Houston standing on the horizon. The drone show required a 12-person crew, 10 off-duty police officers to close streets, and Johnson’s creative imagination. The show captured patriotic themes, highway construction images, flashes of Pitcock’s Texas A&M University and, of course, big happy birthday greetings. And Johnson said it was important to find the perfect music to accompany the drone and video shows. Before darkness set in, a plane circling the party overhead carried a “Happy 96th Birthday, Doug” banner. Custom painters created live image highlights on their canvases. For Pitcock, the employee tribute show mattered the most. “In my heart, this was a gift from the company to him,” Johnson said. “The video was my absolute blood, sweat and tears project.” She took a video crew across Texas to Williams Brothers' job sites and offices where festive employees conveyed their affection and admiration for their boss, who has turned Williams Brothers into a profit-sharing and future employee-owned company. Pitcock suspected that Pennie and his employees were up to something, but she declined to reveal the project. She wanted to surprise him. The responsibility of employing more than 2,500 people and creating a livelihood for so many families leaves “a big weight on his shoulders” Johnson said. Employees were eager “to say happy birthday and we love you. And thank you and we appreciate you.” Johnson knew the special project would disrupt company employees and pull them out of their work routines. “I have never felt so proud to present something to Mr. P. and the entire WB family,” she said. “The project was very much a team effort!” “During the planning, all I could say to myself is, ‘If he is not deserving of these amazing events, who is?’” she added. Pitcock, long addicted to the adrenaline that comes from constant pressures endemic to the highway construction industry, typically works parts of six days a week. Trying to throw another super party next year might seem anti-climactic, Johnson said. She speculates that a party marking Pitcock’s 97th birthday might be a smaller event for company employees. But, it’s not too early to start thinking about No. 98 for the still-healthy company founder. “I think we might skip a year and then bring it back to something a little bigger and maybe a little better,” she said.
HOUSTON – Texas highway industry icon Doug Pitcock received a 96th birthday gift that will remember him for the ages.
The newly completed “Aggie Freeway” connecting northwest Houston to the Bryan-College Station area will eventually be renamed the “Doug Pitcock Expressway," Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced Saturday night (April 20) during Pitcock's birthday celebration.
Patrick said he could not think of a better gift than to honor Pitcock with road immortality – “forever for hundreds of years into the future.”
Scores of folks attending the birthday party showed enthusiasm with loud applause. Pitcock can choose “expressway” or “freeway” behind the name, Patrick added.
About 180 of Pitcock’s friends and Williams Brothers employees gathered at The Post Oak Hotel, one of Houston’s luxury hotels, to celebrate the company founder’s birthday. Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas A&M Chancellor John Sharp, Houston Mayor John Whitmire, and Senate Transportation Chair Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, attended the celebration gathering.
A Marilyn Monroe impersonator showed up to hover over Pitcock while singing “Happy Birthday Mister President.”
A video featuring company employees scattered across multiple construction sites paying tribute stirred strong emotions for Pitcock. Employees sported party gear and used both humor and sincerity to honor their boss in various settings. Pitcock kept grinning while watching the video.
“Oh, my God, my guys don’t act like that. I’m going to watch it again and again - at least 5 more times,” Pitcock said later. “I was just blown away.”
Close friend Pennie Johnson planned the party for Pitcock, who is like a father to Pennie and husband, Todd, and a grandfather figure for Jaclyn and Olivia, the couple’s daughters.
“Those construction guys probably wouldn't have done that for anybody else in the world. But Pennie has a way with people. She loosened them up,” Pitcock, chuckling, said after the party. “And, I mean, (Vice President) Jesse Khangura never in the world would I ever see him act like that. It was so rewarding to see him have a good time and be able to have some fun.”
Pitcock founded Houston-based Williams Brothers Construction Company in 1955. He and his company have built some 3,500 bridges and paved about 11,000 miles of highways over the past 69 years. Pitcock’s company employs nearly 2,500 people.
Johnny Weisman, another industry leader, offered a testimonial for Pitcock. Both have twice served as presidents of AGC of Texas. Pitcock also served as president of AGC of America in 1984.
“You have been very much a mentor to me in my life. Just looking at what you've done in your life, all the things you've done, both on the state level and on the national level,” Weisman noted. “You've been an industry leader. You've taught a lot of people how to figure out this work. From where you came from to where you are today is quite an accomplishment.”
Friends laughed as Weisman highlighted Pitcock’s vast contrasting styles: He could lob “hand grenades” or cast himself as a passive, gentle “rose.”
“So sometimes I called Doug ‘hand grenades or roses.’ Sometimes I would come into an AGC meeting, and he would be all hand grenades. Next time, he’d be oozing Doug charm. And it was quite nice. Sometimes you didn’t know if it would be hand grenades or roses. But we even appreciated the hand grenades,” Weisman said.
As a young highway contractor, Weisman observed Pitcock so he could learn “how things operate.”
“And the history that we all take, as we go through life of how to get things done, without ever losing sight that our job here is to build infrastructure, mainly roads,” Weisman said. “And you have left a footprint across this state that I don't think anybody else can replicate. And you did it because you had the passion to build these projects, and to teach a lot of people like Bob (Lanham) and Randy (Rogers) and Seth (Schulgen) and David (Casteel) and others how to carry on this great tradition.”
The savvy Pitcock knew how to inspire company employees and how to work with TxDOT leaders and state legislators while growing his company and helping put more projects on the Texas road map, Weisman said.
“You were a very dynamic force in making it all happen. And we all owe a deep, deep debt of gratitude to you for what you've done. And we're not going to let you go because (we need you) for another couple hundreds of years,” Weisman said. Pitcock and everyone else laughed.
“All the people in your organization are first class - top of the hill, from top to bottom,” Weisman told his friend. “As you go through life, you can do a lot of things and make a lot of money, or you can lose a lot of money. But what you do and what you leave behind are the things that help Texas become what Texas is today.”
Weisman noted the “heartwarming” pride Pitcock’s employees displayed in the video tribute, adding: “We’re not going to let you out of the game yet. You've done it and done all of us a great service. And I want to wish you a very, very happy birthday.”
The elaborate party was at least a year in the making.
“I was pretty determined to make it happen. I tried to leave no stone unturned,” Pennie Johnson said.
The fancy boxed invitation commemorating Pitcock’s life set the tone for the party. The celebration finale featured a 350-drone light show that party guests viewed from the hotel’s 33rd floor patio with downtown Houston standing on the horizon. The drone show required a 12-person crew, 10 off-duty police officers to close streets, and Johnson’s creative imagination. The show captured patriotic themes, highway construction images, flashes of Pitcock’s Texas A&M University and, of course, big happy birthday greetings. And Johnson said it was important to find the perfect music to accompany the drone and video shows.
Before darkness set in, a plane circling the party overhead carried a “Happy 96th Birthday, Doug” banner. Custom painters created live image highlights on their canvases.
For Pitcock, the employee tribute show mattered the most.
“In my heart, this was a gift from the company to him,” Johnson said. “The video was my absolute blood, sweat and tears project.”
She took a video crew across Texas to Williams Brothers' job sites and offices where festive employees conveyed their affection and admiration for their boss, who has turned Williams Brothers into a profit-sharing and future employee-owned company. Pitcock suspected that Pennie and his employees were up to something, but she declined to reveal the project. She wanted to surprise him.
The responsibility of employing more than 2,500 people and creating a livelihood for so many families leaves “a big weight on his shoulders” Johnson said. Employees were eager “to say happy birthday and we love you. And thank you and we appreciate you.”
Johnson knew the special project would disrupt company employees and pull them out of their work routines.
“I have never felt so proud to present something to Mr. P. and the entire WB family,” she said. “The project was very much a team effort!”
“During the planning, all I could say to myself is, ‘If he is not deserving of these amazing events, who is?’” she added.
Pitcock, long addicted to the adrenaline that comes from constant pressures endemic to the highway construction industry, typically works parts of six days a week.
Trying to throw another super party next year might seem anti-climactic, Johnson said. She speculates that a party marking Pitcock’s 97th birthday might be a smaller event for company employees.
But, it’s not too early to start thinking about No. 98 for the still-healthy company founder.
“I think we might skip a year and then bring it back to something a little bigger and maybe a little better,” she said.